Cart Wheeler

Solidly constructed, they'll get you there in the end, if not in style.

Due to the form of pastoralism practiced by the steppe nomads, it was necessary for them to regularly move on in order to find fresh land for their livestock and not over-graze the already largely arid steppe environment which was their home. As most of the peoples they came into contact were settled, the nomads were also able to trade their spare wool, hides, meat and dairy products for the manufactured goods that, due to the nature of their lifestyle, they could not make themselves. In order for all this to occur, the steppe nomads had to keep moving; in order to keep moving, large wagons were constructed. Distinguished from a cart or carriage by virtue of its four wheels (as opposed to two) and heavy construction (wagons were covered), wagons were constructed by a specialist, known in the barbarian world as a wainwright - where 'wright' is a maker of things and 'wain' specifically refers to a large wagon, often for agricultural use.